What is a timesheet?
A timesheet is a document that tracks how many hours employees work and what they do during a set period. It records time spent on tasks, projects, client work, team meetings and administrative duties.
Businesses use timesheets to improve efficiency, manage resources, plan schedules, track project progress and create detailed records and reports for payroll, invoicing or compliance.
Timesheets can be in paper form, in spreadsheet software or in another online time-tracking program. Typically, companies with regular or freelance employees are most likely to use them.
Examples of timesheets for different types of employee
Here are some different samples of timesheets for employees.
Part-time employee timesheet example
Noah’s Donuts
543 Maple Grove Lane, Austin, TX 73301
555-123-4567
Employee name: Samantha James
Employee ID: PT1123
Manager name: Jamie Thompson
| Week Day | Start Time | End Time | Break Hours | Duties Performed | Total Hours |
| Monday | 8:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 0.50 | Customer service, inventory restocking, cleaning tables, preparing coffee, handling orders | 3.50 |
| Wednesday | 9:00 AM | 1:30 PM | 0.50 | Cashiering, assisting with deliveries, preparing sandwiches, refilling supplies, cleaning equipment | 4.00 |
| Friday | 7:30 AM | 12:00 PM | 0.50 | Opening the shop, preparing donuts, maintaining hygiene standards, greeting customers, organizing displays | 4.00 |
| Total Hours | — | — | — | — | 11.50 |
| Rate/Hour | $18.00 | — | — | — | — |
| Total Pay | $207.00 | — | — | — |
Remote worker timesheet example
Fathom Communications Group
220 Orbit Parkway, Denver, CO 80203
555-789-2345
Employee name: Alyssa Vega
Employee ID: RM2034
Manager name: Vivian Wilson
| Week Day | Start Time | End Time | Break Hours | Tasks Completed | Total Hours |
| Monday | 9:00 AM | 3:00 PM | 0.5 | Client call, report writing | 5.50 |
| Tuesday | 10:00 AM | 4:00 PM | 0.5 | Social media planning, content creation | 5.50 |
| Wednesday | 9:30 AM | 2:30 PM | 0.5 | Campaign analysis, client updates | 4.50 |
| Friday | 11:00 AM | 3:00 PM | 0.5 | Draft presentations, team check-in | 3.50 |
| Total Hours | — | — | — | — | 19.00 |
| Rate/Hour | $25.00 | — | — | — | — |
| Total Pay | $475.00 | — | — | — |
Example of a timesheet for a shift worker
Solar Solutions
890 Sunrise Boulevard, Phoenix, AZ 85016
555-654-9876
Employee name: Darius Johnson
Employee ID: SW5589
Manager name: Parth Patel
| Week Day | Shift Start | Shift End | Break Hours | Tasks Completed | Regular Hours | Overtime Hours | Total Hours |
| Monday | 6:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 1.00 | Solar panel maintenance, system checks, team safety training, stocktake | 7.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
| Tuesday | 4:00 PM | 12:00 AM | 1.00 | Emergency repairs, equipment inspections, power outage support | 7.00 | 1.00 | 8.00 |
| Thursday | 6:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 1.00 | Routine inspections, panel cleaning, safety audits, risk assessment | 7.00 | 0.00 | 7.00 |
| Friday | 4:00 PM | 12:00 AM | 1.00 | Night repairs, troubleshooting, final shift report | 7.00 | 1.00 | 8.00 |
| Total Hours | — | — | — | — | 28.00 | 2.00 | 30.00 |
| Rate/Hour | $22.00 | $33.00 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total Pay | $616.00 | $66.00 | — | — | — | $682.00 |
Freelancer working across multiple clients/projects
Mint & Basil Organics
123 Green Way, Seattle, WA 98101
555-246-1357
Freelancer name: Francesca Garza
Week commencing on: November 20, 2024
| Week Day | Client/Project | Start Time | End Time | Break Hours | Total Hours |
| Monday | Basil Inc. – Marketing | 9:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 0.5 | 4.50 |
| Tuesday | Mint Inc. – Branding | 11:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 1.0 | 5.00 |
| Wednesday | Basil Inc. – Strategy | 8:00 AM | 12:00 PM | 0.5 | 3.50 |
| Thursday | Mint Inc. – Ads Review | 10:00 AM | 1:00 PM | 0.0 | 3.00 |
| Friday | Mixed clients – Final Edits | 9:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 0.5 | 4.50 |
| Total Hours | — | — | — | — | 20.50 |
| Rate/Hour | $45.00 | — | — | — | — |
| Total Pay | $922.50 | — | — | — | $922.50 |
Timesheets vs. timecards
A timecard captures when an employee starts and ends their shift, monitors breaks, calculates hours worked and tracks overtime. Timesheets offer a broader perspective by logging specific activities, tasks, client work, project milestones and meetings, making them ideal for freelancers, remote teams and project-based roles. Choosing the right tool depends on your business needs.
Example of a time card
Here’s a timecard sample:
Happy Heart Smoothies
789 Orchard Avenue, Portland, OR 97201
555-321-9876
Employee name: Swathi Banerjee
Employee ID: TC1347
Manager name: Sharon Eisenstein
| Week Day | Shift Start | Shift End | Break Hours | Regular Hours | Overtime Hours | Total Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 8:00 AM | 2:00 PM | 0.50 | 5.50 | 0.00 | 5.50 |
| Tuesday | 9:00 AM | 3:30 PM | 0.50 | 6.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| Thursday | 7:30 AM | 12:30 PM | 0.00 | 5.00 | 0.00 | 5.00 |
| Friday | 10:00 AM | 5:00 PM | 1.00 | 6.00 | 0.00 | 6.00 |
| Total Hours | — | — | — | 22.50 | 0.00 | 22.50 |
| Rate/Hour | $15.00 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Total Pay | $337.50 | — | — | — | — |
What are the benefits of using timesheets for employers?
Your human resources department uses timesheets to track time spent working during a given time period. A weekly timesheet, for example, would record working hours for a particular week.
Let’s look at more reasons why you might find timesheets useful.
Payroll processing
Companies use timesheets to work out an employee’s pay for a given period. You can do this by referencing when an employee started and finished their work along with any breaks they took during their shift and noting the duties they completed while working. Companies can use timesheets to make sure employees are being paid accurately.
Management accounting
Timesheets are useful for managing accounting. The information in a timesheet helps employers and supervisors assign tasks, schedule and determine whether new hires are needed to help with the workload.
For example, timesheets help managers determine how long it took an employee to complete a task and identify delays in the work’s completion. Depending on what information the timecard includes, managers can decide to assign less time-consuming tasks or more time-consuming tasks with a longer or shorter deadline.
Project or client-based work
You can use timesheets to track the billable hours an employee spends with a client or the amount of time they spent on a particular project. For example, freelancers can benefit from the use of a timesheet because they’re typically paid on an hourly basis.
A timesheet also helps the client in this scenario because they’ll be able to see where their money is going. By the same token, timesheets also help a company’s human resources department because they’re able to track the activities being completed and the time spent on them, which can aid with future planning.
Weekly Timesheet Form Template for PDF & Excel
Check out our weekly timesheet template that you can use to track employees working hours.
*Indeed provides these examples as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your HR or legal adviser, and none of these documents reflect current labor or employment regulations.
